


First Date

by astrocrown



Series: HalBarry One Shots [5]
Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 04:06:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16078046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrocrown/pseuds/astrocrown
Summary: Barry was fully expecting Hal to show up late to their first date, but he wasn't expecting Hal to be beaten up when he arrived. Then again, this was Hal.





	First Date

Barry had his doubts, but he was hopeful. After all, this was Hal Jordan, who not only shared Barry’s habit of often being late, but had an even worse trait as well: sometimes not even showing up at all. Maybe this would be different, Barry thought. Maybe Hal would actually show up on time because this was a date, a date that he’d asked Barry out on after knowing him for all these years. It wasn’t a Justice League meeting or anything of the sort. It was the two of them wanting to actually get to know each other on a more personal level. Hal wouldn’t want to miss that, would he? 

“Then it’s a date. I’ll meet you at your place Friday at six,” Hal had said. They were in the watchtower conference room alone. Following a meeting, everyone had scattered and the pair found themselves alone. 

Barry was so beside himself that the words had barely registered before he responded. This was really happening? “Yeah, sounds great.”

‘Sounds great’? Really, Barry?

Hal grinned.

“We’ll go to that Italian place you like,” the pilot said. He shuffled his feet a little. Maybe Barry wasn’t the only one who was flustered. “You said I should try it sometime, right?”

“Uh, y-yeah…”

“Great. Then I’ll be there.”

“Great.”

And now here Barry was, standing in the middle of his living room because he was too nervous to sit down while he waited for Hal to show up. This was insane. Why did they agree to this? What if it ruined their friendship? What if they got tired of waiting around for each other all the time? What if Hal would hate his little habits like the way he tended to drum on a desk while he was working?

He checked his watch. It was already ten minutes past six. He sighed. Yeah, this was about what he expected. Hal probably had gotten tangled up in something and wouldn’t be here, or maybe he just plain forgot because it wasn’t that important to him, or maybe…..

His doorbell rang. His heart jumped, but not before he sped quickly across the room to the door. When he opened, it however, his heart dropped again.

Hal was there, but he looked disheveled and beaten. His hair was a mess, he had a black eye, various cuts and scratches across his face and neck, and he looked so out of it that Barry wondered how he was standing upright. In spite of all this, he gave Barry a grin when he saw him. 

“Only ten minutes late. That’s not bad, right?” 

“Hal? What happened?”

“I got ambushed by Sinestro and some of his clowns over in Coast Ci—” He trailed off as he stumbled forward, right into Barry’s arms. 

Barry caught him. “Easy, easy. I got you. Come on, you need to rest.”

“We have a date.”

“You need to _rest_. This isn’t up for debate.” 

Barry threw Hal’s arm around his shoulders and led him inside shutting the door behind them. Moving carefully, he guided Hal over to his couch. 

“You should have called me,” he said, voice laced with concern.

“Ring says there’s nothing serious.”

“Did the ring also tell you that you’re lucky to be upright?”

“Come on, Barry. It’s me. This is basically another Tuesday. Well, it’s Friday, but you know what I mean.”

Barry let him go and Hal flopped on the couch with a groan, clearly dazed. The blond took a good look at him before walking off to the kitchen with a frown. 

“I just didn’t want to miss it,” Hal said quietly, but still loud enough for Barry to pick up. “You know...the date.” 

As concerned as Barry was, he felt his heart flutter. Was it too much to say that it was really sweet that Hal didn’t want to miss the date even as he was getting the ever loving crap beat out of him? God. Things like this reminded him why he’d started getting feelings for Hal in the first place. 

He pulled an ice pack out of the freezer and returned to the living room, looking at Hal with concern in his eyes. “Hal...you’re more important than a date. I know you can handle yourself, but I’d rather be there for you than have something happen to you because you were stubborn.”

Hal looked at him, the statement seeming to resonate with him on some level, and bit his lip. 

Barry handed him the ice pack and sat next to him. “Did you think I was going to be upset? Come on, Hal. You know me better than that.” 

That made Hal smile a little. He took the ice pack and placed it over his black eye. “Yeah, I suppose I do.”

There was no way that Barry was going to let Hal go out in his condition. Instead, he turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels before he found a movie for them to watch. “You’re not moving for awhile, but that doesn’t mean...it can’t be a date.”

Hal rose an eyebrow.

“...Well, sorta,” Barry added sheepishly.

Hal chuckled. “You’re adorable, Bar.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, mostly because Hal seemed so exhausted. Barry watched him closely, making sure he didn’t show signs of any deeper, hidden injury even though Hal said there wasn’t any. Maybe he should take him to the watchtower med bay, just to be safe.

He was still debating that thought about twenty minutes later when Hal shifted on the couch, collapsing sideways to lay down as he dropped his ice pack. Barry couldn’t tell if Hal had actually fallen asleep or if he’d done it consciously, but he was caught off guard as Hal’s head landed on his lap as he settled.

He seemed so comfortable there that Barry didn’t have the heart to move him. Maybe...they could stay like this for awhile. Hal probably just needed to rest, and if he was comfortable here with Barry, he shouldn’t disrupt him. 

...And admittedly, having Hal like this was making him swoon. Just a little.

His hand trembled slightly as he cautiously moved to thread his fingers through Hal’s thick brown hair in a soothing gesture. He felt like he was pushing some boundaries here, because they’d never been in a position like this before as long as they’d known each other, but with Hal’s head on his lap it just...felt right somehow. 

Hal let out a content sigh. Barry still couldn’t tell if he was awake or not, but he was comfortable and getting the rest he needed, so that was all that mattered right now. 

They could figure out everything else later.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I promise I haven't forgotten these guys. Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> My twitter: [halhighball](https://twitter.com/halhighball) | My tumblr: [msgrayson](http://msgrayson.tumblr.com/)


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